Prairie rinks take top spots

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An unseasonably late snowstorm raged outside, but the ice inside Saskatoon's Hub City Curling Club on the evening of April 1 was smooth sparkling. After four days of intense competition, the 2002 National Aboriginal Curling Championship had reached its final draw, and no one was too concerned with the weather as the men's and women's finalists prepared to do battle.

On the men's side, the Marshall Bear rink from Little Pine, Sask. faced Gerald Regnier's squad from the Makwa Sahgaiehcan First Nation near Loon Lake, Sask. Both rinks had won the event twice before (Bear in 1996 and 2000, Regnier in 1994 and 1997), adding to the excitement and tension of the showdown. As expected from such high calibre teams, the final was a tight, hard-fought affair.

After a cautious start that saw two blank ends, play opened up in the third when Regnier was forced to draw for a single. Bear countered with two in the fourth. Regnier scored two in the fifth. And Bear took another double in the seventh. After trading singles in the eighth and ninth, the score was 5-4 for Bear going into the final end. Needing a steal to force an extra end, Regnier came up short on a difficult draw, giving Bear his third national title.

The winning rink-made up of skip Marshall Bear, third Earl Nighttraveller, second Mark Kennedy, and lead Marcel Bear-took home $4,000 for their efforts.

The women's final also featured two talented rinks, with Loretta Meade's foursome from Winnipeg facing Renee Sonnenberg's rink from Beaumont, Alta. From the start, Sonnenberg's squad proved they were too strong for Meade. Opening with a double, the team stole singles in the next two ends, then sealed their victory with three in the fifth. With the score 9-2 after eight ends, Meade conceded defeat.

Sonnenberg had experience on her side. With a different team, she twice skipped Alberta at the Scott Tournament of Hearts (in 1999 and 2001). For this event, Sonnenberg played with her mother and two sisters, something that made the victory especially sweet.

"It's just fun to play with family. It was one of Mom's dreams to play the four of us together, so this was a great event to come to," said the skip. "This is the best we've ever curled together as a team."

The women's champion team for 2002 was made up of sisters skip Sonnenberg, third Nikki Smith and second Christina Bird. Mother Simone Handfield rounded out the team as lead. The win paid $2,000.

The winners in the junior divisions were the Jordan Henry rink from Prince Albert, Sask. on the men's side and the defending champ Sasha Yole rink from Ile-a-la-Crosse, Sask. on the women's.

In total, 91 teams from across Canada took part in the 2002 championships, the largest number yet for the growing event, first held in 1993. More than a prestigious competition, the event is an opportunity for participants to gather in the spirit of friendship and fun.

"We come here every year. We keep coming back to renew old friendships, visit old acquaintances and have some fun curling," said Marvin Aubichon of Regina.

"It's a fun annual event for us," agreed Robert Kytwayhat, a member of the men's finalist team from Loon Lake. "It's the only time the four of us get together."